Archbishop Nikon (Rozhdestvensky) and the Vologda Theological Seminary

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the activity of Vologda and Totem Archbishop Nikon (Rozhdestvensky) during his stay at the Vologda Department in relation to the Vologda Theological Seminary. According to the Statute for Theological Seminaries (1884), a diocesan bishop was the highest head of theological and educationalinstitutions in the diocese and was to supervise over  educational activities. The Vologda Theological Seminary, founded in the early 18th century, is one of the oldest theological schools in Russia. At the time of Bishop Nikon’s tenure at the Vologda Department, the system of theological education at the Russian Orthodox Church experienced a crisis associated with the mass protest movements among the students of theological schools. The correct carrying out of the educational work at the seminary contributed to the fact that the Vologda Seminary was able to get rid of the crisis situation in a fairly short period of time. The main sources on the issue under consideration are the materials of personal origin, such as diaries written by an assistant inspector of the seminary Nikifor Ilyinsky, as well as the letters from the Rector of
the seminary, Archpriest Nikolai Malinovsky, to N. N. Glubokovsky and directly to Bishop Nikon. Having taken into account the available materials, the author tries to show Bishop Nikon’s contribution to the development of the theological education in the Vologda Diocese.